Lorenzo Sanchez, Fisherman

Lorenzo Sanchez

Deckhand

Lorenzo grew up in Watsonville, but much of his education took place in Moss Landing and on the Monterey Bay. Starting at about the age of five, his father took him to the jetty and beach to fish, and then out on a motorboat to where they spent weekends baiting hooks and casting.

Lorenzo has ventured north to Alaska to crew on Bristol Bay salmon boats, but these days, his home port is Moss Landing where he fishes hook-and-line open access lingcod, rockfish, halibut and sea bass. In addition, he runs two commercial salmon operations in the summer, and crews as a deckhand for Dungeness crab for the season that often runs through the winter into spring.

He’s out there pulling gear, come rain or shine, and there’s nowhere he’d rather fish than the Monterey Bay. “It’s close to home. It’s beautiful. And there’s a lot going on all year round.” He cites the deep canyons in the Monterey Bay for the wealth of the bay. “It attracts bait fish that salmon love. And crab are along the edges.”

If he had to choose a favorite seafood, it’s wild, local king salmon. “It’s rich and oily,” he said. “I like to smoke it. Grill it. Eat it raw. I just really like salmon.